


Don't Force Musicals

by nychus



Series: IgNoct Week 2018 [9]
Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Day 5, Ignoct Week, Ignoct Week 2018, M/M, bed sharing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-10
Updated: 2018-02-10
Packaged: 2019-03-16 12:14:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,787
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13636092
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nychus/pseuds/nychus
Summary: No one particularly likes Ignis's girlfriend, including Ignis himself, but at least she keeps his mind off the forbidden fruit that is the prince.Noctis drags Ignis away for a "mission" and Cor won't take anyone's shit.





	Don't Force Musicals

**Author's Note:**

> IgNoct Week 2018: Day 5 Simple Bed Sharing

Noctis was making his way towards his father’s chambers, happy that they finally managed to get an evening for dinner. It felt like it had been ages and in truth it probably was. Niflheim had been a bit noisy lately, so Regis had had to call many last minute meetings to handle the issues.

His good mood was soured when he was stopped by the young woman he would love to use for target practice. There were guns with those soft, squishy bullets that he sometimes practiced with and she would make a fine target.

“Prince Noctis, hello,” she greeted, smiling sweetly and her voice just dripping with saccharine.

“Lady Penelope,” he said in return with a nod.

“Could you be sure that Ignis has no duties on Wednesday? I have tickets for the new Macala and I would hate to miss it.”

“Isn’t that a musical?” Noctis asked and she nodded. “He hates musicals.”

“But he knows how happy they make me,” Penelope continued to smile. “He’ll be free, right?”

Not if I have anything to say about it, he thought but verbally he told her that it was unlikely there would be an issue. Penelope didn’t seem to think that was a good enough answer, but Noctis didn’t budge. Something could always come up. The glare she gave him might have been intimidating if he wasn’t the prince with a whole arsenal of magic and weapons on his side.

Once they parted ways, Noctis finished the walk to dinner on autopilot. He didn’t even realize he had reached his destination until Regis said something.

“That’s a grumpy face,” Regis said as he watched Noctis make his way to the table.

“Sorry,” he mumbled. “I ran into Ignis’s girlfriend on the way here.”

“Jealous?” Regis asked as he nodded towards the staff to bring in dinner.

“What? No!” The loud, gut reaction wasn’t helping his case, so he amended it with, “At least, I don’t think so? Well, maybe I don’t like that she takes up all his time.”

Regis chuckled at the reaction. “You miss him, but you do realize dating is a part of growing up. As long as he’s happy.”

“That’s the thing, though, I don’t think he is,” Noctis said. Dinner had been served and he was already scooting the vegetables to one side.

“How so?”

“He, I dunno, he just doesn’t seem to be,” he answered. He thought a bit while taking the first bite of steak. “Like, she wanted to be sure he was free for a musical on Wednesday.”

“Ignis hates musicals,” Regis noted.

“That’s what I said! But this has to be the fourth or fifth one she’s dragged him to. But when there was an art exhibit he wanted to go to, she didn’t want to go and so he missed it. He had been looking forward to that show forever and she threw a fit.”

“Why would Ignis stay with her if he wasn’t happy?” Regis asked, curious to know how his son would answer. He actually had a good idea as to why, as he knew the family members that were likely involved, but his son knew Ignis best.

“I dunno. Probably because he feels like he has to. He’s never said, but I get the distinct feeling that his uncle pushed for the match and he doesn’t feel like he can just break it off.” Noctis sighed. It would be so very Ignis to do this for Stupeo. He always felt indebted to his uncle for taking him in and giving him the opportunity to be Noctis’s adviser.

“I imagine you are correct,” Regis said. Some people didn’t like the idea of Ignis being single and he couldn’t really understand why. The council had long seemed interested in the boy’s love life when the boy himself seemed to care less.

Noctis sighed. “I wish I could do something for him. Pull him away for a day to just be himself and maybe that would help him realize he doesn’t have to stay with her.”

Regis was quiet for a moment, not that Noctis really paid any attention. He was focused on his friend’s issues. When the king finally spoke, it was to say he might have an idea as to how they could get Ignis away.

~*~*~*~*~

Sunday night had already become Monday morning whenever Ignis finally managed to collapse in bed. There was so much that he had to do over the weekend, but Penelope had insisted on dinner and a movie. And now he knew he had another gods-awful musical to go to on Wednesday. Why couldn’t these stories be told without people suddenly bursting into song? It made no sense.

The hours he had lost on Saturday night were only made up on Sunday night until he finally had everything he needed done filed away and placed in his briefcase for the morning meetings. It was 2:30, he could get a couple of hours before he needed to be up again. He didn’t even bother to change into pajamas, opting instead to collapse on his bed in his slacks and undershirt, hoping sleep would come quick.

What felt like mere moments later, Ignis woke to the sound of someone in his room, going through his stuff.

Before he could say anything, however, said someone heard the movement and turned to greet him, “Ah, you’re up. Sorry to wake you, but you can sleep in the car.”

“Car?”

“Yeah,” Noctis said, dropping the duffle bag he’d been carrying to the ground. “Car. You might want to do your own packing. We’re heading towards the north wall, plan for a week, but we should have access to laundry.”

“There have been skirmishes along the north wall,” Ignis said, now fully awake.

“Yep.”

“Then why are we going?” Ignis asked. He scowled a bit at the mess Noctis had made of his clothes, but said nothing of it. Instead he started to reorganize.

“I dunno, Dad said?” Noctis said with a shrug. “We better hurry, Cor will be getting annoyed if we take too long.”

“Right,” was all Ignis could say as he hurriedly packed his bag. It took ten minutes to have everything ready to go, including himself in clean clothes, and get down to where Cor was waiting in the car.

Noctis took Ignis’s bag to toss in the trunk, acting as if he didn’t want Ignis to see what was in the trunk. He tried to glance in before Noctis could shut it, but other than what looked like fishing gear, saw nothing out of the ordinary.

Cor insisted they both sit in the back and get some sleep. The drive would be long and Cor would be better to have full concentration as he drove them away from the city center into the more rural parts. Ignis didn’t think he’d be able to fall back to sleep, but once Noctis decided to use him as a pillow, the body heat and steady breath of his prince lulled him back into slumber.

This time when Ignis woke, it was to his phone ringing. Noctis made a noise of discontent, but Ignis ignored it as he fished his phone out of his pocket. Ah, Penelope was calling. Of course she was.

“No phones,” Cor said from the front.

“Sir?”

“No phones on this trip,” Cor repeated.

That seemed…odd. Ignis looked at his phone again once the ringing stopped. “I should tell her something,” Ignis said. “Can’t I at least say I’m on assignment and will call when I get back?”

Before Cor could respond, the phone started ringing again. Cor put his hand back, indicating he wanted the phone, so Ignis handed it over.

“Ignis Scientia’s phone, Cor Leonis speaking, who is calling?” he answered. He placed it on speaker, but the look that he gave Ignis in the rearview mirror said that no one else was supposed to say anything.

“This is Penelope Stoeck, his girlfriend, and I need to speak with him. Now,” her voice came through.

“Ah, Lady Stoeck, I am afraid that is not possible. His phone has been confiscated for the duration of this assignment and he will not get it back until we have returned to the Citadel.”

There was an annoyed huff. “Fine, when will he be back?”

“We’re not really sure how long this will take, but our best guess is a week.”

“A week?!” Penelope’s voice was shrill enough that even Noctis couldn’t feign sleeping anymore. “I’m sorry, but that just won’t work. He must be back by Wednesday evening. We have a play to go to.”

“It is highly unlikely we will return by then.”

“No, no. He will be back by then. If not, you’ll have to answer to—”

“Answer to who, Lady Stoeck?” Cor cut her off. “The only person I answer to is King Regis and as he was the one who ultimately had to approve this, it is unlikely he will suddenly change his mind for a play.”

There was another annoyed huff, some grumbles, and then Penelope hung up. Cor said nothing, but he did catch Ignis’s eye and raised an eyebrow as if to ask, “You’re really dating that?”

Knowing he wasn’t going to get his phone back, Ignis leaned back once more and allowed Noctis to get comfortable again. He had no idea what was going on, but knowing he would have to miss that dreadful play, he didn’t figure it could be too awful.

~*~*~*~*~

“I’m confused,” Ignis said once the car was in park. Cor had driven them into a wildlife refuge that had cabins to rent. He had parked the car in front of one of said cabins. “Why are we here?”

“This is your assignment,” Cor said, pulling the Noctis’s and Ignis’s bags from the car while Noctis grabbed his fishing gear.

“What is?”

“You are to stay here and relax,” Noctis said, bumping Ignis lightly with a huge grin. “No tv, no internet, and no phone mean no work for you.”

“We’re completely cut off? But what if something happens?” Ignis was becoming slightly panicky at the thought of not being able to reach anyone.

“Noctis keeps his phone, but is only allowed to use it when necessary,” Cor answered. “That means no games. Right, Highness?”

“Yeah, yeah. Thanks for the lift,” Noctis said, waving his hand at Cor in hope that the marshal would take the hint and leave. “Go fix whatever needs to be fixed at the wall.”

Cor set the prince with quite the look before he bid them farewell, returned to the car, and drove away. 

The prince and the adviser were alone, in the middle of the woods, with basically no contact to the outside world.

Ignis wasn’t sure if he should be terrified or ecstatic.

~*~*~*~*~

The interior of the cabin was comfortably rustic. The great room had a nice large fireplace with an anak head mounted above it, two very comfortable looking armchairs flanked either side, and a nice couch faced it. There were a few bookshelves that held a variety of books and a nice writing desk along the walls on the living area. A small dining table separated the living room from the kitchen. The kitchen was state of the art, everything was top of the line and Ignis couldn’t wait to play with some of the devices. The pantry and refrigerator were stocked with plenty of food and there were directions to the nearest general store hanging on the fridge.

A small hallway led to the bathroom and bedroom. On the left was a nice size washroom with a large shower and soaker tub. There were double sinks and a separate area for the toilet. On the right was the bedroom, which gave Ignis cause to pause.

“Noctis.”

“Hmm?” Noctis was looking through his tackle box; comparing his gear to what he’d most likely need for the fish in the area.

“There is only one bedroom.”

“Well, it’s lucky we could get a cabin at all, we only called on Saturday,” Noctis said. “We can share.”

“There is also only one bed.”

“Is it big enough for both of us?”

“Well, yes,” Ignis said, glancing back into the room. It was queen size and could certainly hold both of them easily, “but I don’t th—”

“Then we share the bed. It’s not like we haven’t done it before.”

“When we were children.”

The prince shrugged as he finally turned his attention away from his fishing gear and joined Ignis in the hallway. He glanced in, saw no issues, and said so. “Look, this is for you to relax,” Noctis said. “You are not going to relax if you sleep on the couch. I refuse to let you sleep on the couch. I’ll sleep on it.”

“You will not—!”

“But you’ll find some stupid reason to say I can’t have worse sleeping accommodations than you, which means we either share the bed or neither of us get it. Which do you prefer?”

Ignis glared at the prince. He wanted to smack the shit-eating grin off his face, because he was right. Ignis would never allow himself to have a bed if it meant Noctis had to sleep on anything else. He also knew that Noctis was stubborn enough to refuse the bed. With a sigh, Ignis grabbed their bags and started putting their clothes away while Noctis continued to grin.

It was early afternoon when they arrived to the cabin, so once Ignis was satisfied that everything was in place, Noctis pulled him outside to walk around a bit. Noctis wanted to see the nearby fishing spots and Ignis couldn’t deny it felt good to walk around and to just be in nature. It was relaxing; nice to not have to worry about meetings or reports or anything of the like.

The relaxed feeling lasted about an hour before Ignis started feeling anxious. He wasn’t used to free time. Even at home lately, his free time had been spent with trying to keep Penelope happy and that certainly wasn’t relaxing. Noctis watched in amusement as Ignis first started reorganizing the kitchen to better suit his needs. That didn’t take long, so he started baking. Ignis wasn’t aware he was a stress baker, but then he never really had the time to do so before. If he could do nothing else, he could at least fill the cabin with the delicious smell of cookies.

Noctis didn’t seem to mind. Yes, he tried to stop Ignis a couple of times (“Do we really need a third batch of snickerdoodles?”) but he figured there was nothing to be done but enjoy the results.

Bedtime came earlier for Noctis than Ignis, but that surprised neither of them. Once Noctis was settled in bed, he felt the need to yell at Ignis to actually come to bed eventually. Noctis would know if Ignis slept on the couch and there would be hell to pay if that happened.

Being alone with his thoughts did not do Ignis any favors. Normally, he kept himself busy enough that he didn’t have time to think about anything other than what he was working on (and the next five things on his to do list), but now there was nothing to occupy his thoughts.

Mostly he thought about how wonderful Noctis was, pulling him away from everything like he did. When Ignis had asked why the ruse, Noctis rightfully pointed out that he’d come up with any excuse he could think of to get out of a vacation. It hadn’t been in Ignis’s nature to relax since he started taking university classes at age fifteen.

He thought about Penelope and how unhappy he was with her. He tried not to let it show, but Ignis was aware that Noctis could tell his true feelings towards her. On paper, they were a great match, which was why Stupeo had introduced them, but in reality they didn’t mesh. Ignis suspected he was nothing more than arm candy and a ticket to the top for her. He had thought about calling it off with her so many times, but there was one thing that kept him from doing so. If he stayed with Penelope, then he had someone else to focus on to make the reality of life seem less horrible.

Now, here he was, alone with his thoughts. Away from his girlfriend who he had no love for and alone with the one he loved more than anything but knew he could never have.

Sometimes it was hard for Ignis to remind himself that friendship was better than nothing. He would always be by Noctis’s side, no matter what. Nothing would change that.

But, as he finally dragged himself to bed, he paused in the doorway for a moment to watch his friend sleep. Knowing that he was about to crawl in next to him and knowing that Noctis had always sought out the warmth of another body, Ignis could pretend, if only for a night, that the one he was with loved him back.

~*~*~*~*~

Tuesday was actually relaxing. All the nervous energy from the day before had left Ignis and so he allowed himself a chance to unwind. He read a little before making breakfast. He went with Noctis to one of the fishing holes for a little while before taking a little hike along one of the nearby trails. After lunch he returned to his books, making notes of various herbs, mushrooms, and fruits in the area that he would look for tomorrow. Finally, he took the largest fish that Noctis caught and made a delicious dinner. A long shower and then bed ended the day.

Wednesday started out just the same, only Noctis opted for a nap after lunch. He was passed out on the couch while Ignis read. Both jolted when there was a sudden knock on the door and before either could think to do anything but stare, the door opened to reveal Cor.

Cor’s eyes zeroed in on Ignis. “You no longer have a girlfriend.”

“I…what?” Ignis asked, confused.

“I do not care if you think you are in love with her, but she is toxic and I refuse to let her use you,” Cor said. “I’ve talked with Stupeo as well, he agrees. You no longer have a girlfriend.”

Ignis wasn’t sure what to say or think, but he did manage to reflexively catch his phone whenever Cor tossed it at him. He didn’t even need to unlock the phone to see what must have been a hundred different notifications from Penelope. Calls, voicemails, and texts seemed to go on forever down the lock screen.

When he opened the phone, he saw his inbox was quite full as well. Though he knew what the majority of them would be, he still felt a need to check. Sure enough, there were plenty of emails from Penelope too.

He sighed and looked up to the other two men in the room. “I should call her.”

“Probably,” Cor said. He then gave Noctis a tap on the shoulder and nodded his head towards the front door.

“You can stay,” Ignis said as he dialed her number.

“Ignis,” she answered, absolutely no emotion in her voice. “You are calling to say the Marshal has no business making us break up, aren’t you?”

“The tone of your voice leads me to believe you aren’t expecting me to,” Ignis said.

“So that’s it, we’re through because some asshole decided that I can’t send my boyfriend a few texts while he’s away?”

“It has barely been forty-eight hours since you were told I wasn’t allowed my phone and there are more than just a few texts and other messages in that time.”

“Well, I missed you,” Penelope said.

“Really?”

“I know the prince is behind this,” Penelope said, quickly changing tactics. “I asked him to be sure you had tonight free so we could see the play and then suddenly you’ve been whisked away.”

Ignis looked over at Noctis. Though the prince had no idea what was happening on the other side of the conversation, he looked startled to suddenly be under Ignis’s gaze. “I…honestly, I wouldn’t put it past him. He knows how much I detest musicals.”

“Hmph, and you don’t even care, do you? Your precious prince says ‘jump’ and you ask how high so you can figure out the trajectory. You know we had a good thing, Ignis.”

“Penelope, you must know how unhappy I’ve been, especially when you refuse to do anything I want to do.”

“Everything you want to do is boring,” she said. “An art exhibit? Really?”

Ignis pinched the bridge of his nose. “Yes, do so woo me back into your arms.”

She scoffed, “‘Into your arms?’ Right, like that even happened. Astrals for such an intelligent man, you couldn’t pick up on any of my signals to take me to bed.”

“Perhaps I just ignored them,” Ignis said. “I have no desire to bed someone I am not attracted to.”

“Excuse me?!” came the shrill response from the phone while Ignis heard Noctis mutter “Whoa” behind him.

“I am a beautiful young woman, Ignis Scientia, and you will do well to remember that!”

“You are beautiful,” Ignis said. He could feel the headache coming on. “I do not deny that, but attractiveness takes more than beauty. I’m sorry, I should have ended it much sooner, but I kept telling myself to wait and I would find what would attract me to you. Unfortunately, I can’t get passed this possessiveness you have. Made all the more clearer by the amount of messages you left in such a short time.”

“You will never date again,” Penelope cried after a few minutes. “I’ll make sure all the councilmen know to keep their daughters away from you!”

“Penelope, I am sorry for how I behaved and how I am finally accepting we were never meant to be. Have a good time at the play tonight.”

How much of that last statement Penelope heard, Ignis wasn’t sure. She was crying and yelling and Ignis thought he might have heard her father in the background. Great, something he’d have to deal with once back at the Citadel. Something to fret over on the rest of this vacation.

Looking down at his phone, Ignis thought to block her number to keep any hateful diatribe off his messages. He then handed it back to Cor.

“You okay?” Noctis asked.

Ignis looked at him, trying to find the words, but instead he returned his gaze to Cor. “May I assume you had a more pressing reason to be back at our door?”

The look Cor leveled at him seemed to be calculating whether or not he should respond to the question or press on about Penelope. He decided to answer the question. “I needed to come to town to get some supplies, so I figured I’d check up on you two. See if there was anything you needed before I head back.”

“I do believe we are good, Marshal,” Ignis said. “How are things at the wall?”

“Good. We’ve found the daemon nest and it’s just a matter of being sure it’s all cleared out.”

“That is good to hear.”

“If you’re sure you don’t need anything, I’ll take my leave. Next time I come back it will be to head home.”

“Sounds good,” Noctis said. Before Cor could get out the door, though, Noctis ran to the kitchen and picked up one of the many containers of cookies. “Here, have some cookies. Someone stress bakes”

That earned a smiled. With thanks, Cor was once again out of the cabin and off doing whatever it was that Cor does.

Ignis sat in thought, highly aware that Noctis was watching him closely. He wasn’t sure how he should feel, honestly. Yes, he was glad to not have to deal with Penelope anymore, but the breakup occurred in a pretty terrible way and he would have quite the aftermath to deal with once back in the Citadel. He had a feeling Lord Stoeck would do whatever he could to make Ignis’s life a living hell because no one messes with his baby girl.

“Hey.”

Ignis looked up to see Noctis was suddenly much closer than he had been, sitting on the edge of the sofa closest to his chair.

“What do you want to do?” he asked. Ignis had no answer to that question. Noctis didn’t seem too bothered by it. “Why don’t we pack up some dinner and hike up to that hill just south of here? It’s supposed to be a clear night and we haven’t gone stargazing in ages.”

“That sounds wonderful, Noct.”

~*~*~*~*~

Although it took them a couple of hours to prepare and hike up the hill, there was still some daylight left. They ate in silence, just some sandwiches and cookies. Noctis had joked that the cookies would have to be substitute for the ice cream recent breakups usually had, but the joke fizzled fairly quickly.

Food gone, the pair watched the sunset and waited for the stars to slowly come into view as the sky grew darker. Most of the conversation had was pointing out various constellations and the retelling of old legends connected to them. Eventually, even those words died in the night air and they sat in silence, watching for shooting stars.

A cool breeze came through and Noctis instinctively shifted closer to Ignis. Part of him worried that the contact would be too intimate so soon after the breakup, but another part pushed him on saying “he’s single now, you don’t have to worry.” For his part, Ignis didn’t seem to mind, putting an arm around Noctis and pulling him closer to his body. The prince dared to lay his head on Ignis’s shoulder after a moment.

It felt good. It felt right. Noctis wished it could always be this way. But it couldn’t, could it? Ignis liked girls. Didn’t he? He had said he wasn’t attracted to Penelope, so what did that mean? Should he ask? Is it too soon? He probably doesn’t want to talk about it. Another time perhaps.

“What did you mean when you told Penelope you weren’t attracted to her even though you found her beautiful?” Dammit, mouth, why?! Noctis inwardly cringed. He couldn’t believe he just asked that.

For a moment, Ignis didn’t answer and Noctis wasn’t sure if he was mad about the question or not. Just as Noctis was about to apologize for asking, Ignis finally answered.

“Penelope is a beautiful woman,” Ignis said. “She has all the features that draw many men to her. But beauty is only skin deep. I find it’s a person’s personality that’s attractive. Looks are nice in the sense that people don’t question your decision to pursue someone, but they truly don’t matter. To me anyway. Give me someone who is kind, caring, and thoughtful towards the people around them. Someone who understands how people feel, even when no words are exchanged. Someone who…” Ignis cut himself off and stayed quiet for a moment. “Someone who is not Penelope.”

“Hmm,” was all Noctis could respond as he thought about what Ignis had said (and wondered what Ignis didn’t say). After running the words through his head a few times, he realized something. “You keep saying they and them. Not, her and she.”

From where Noctis had his head resting, he could just barely see the side of Ignis’s mouth and how it curled slightly upwards. “Gender is no issue.”

Another hum from Noctis. He hoped, gods he hoped, that sudden sliver of hope he just got wasn’t palpable to Ignis. It felt like it should be. Was he keeping the stupid grin off his face? Gods, no. Ignis isn’t looking at him, so he probably didn’t see. Oh why did they have to be prince and adviser and not just friends who could be lovers?

“How about you, Noct?” Ignis cut through his train of thought.

“What do you mean?” he stuttered.

Ignis finally turned his head enough to look down at him. “What’s your preference? Women, men, or does it matter?”

“Oh, uh,” Noctis really hadn’t thought about it before. He’d wanted Ignis since he understood the whole concept of attractiveness and love. There really hadn’t been any other he had thought about. That was probably weird, now that he thought about it.

“It’s fine, you don’t have to tell me.”

“I just…” Noctis couldn’t answer “you” but he wasn’t sure any other answer wasn’t lying. Though, Ignis was a guy, so, “I guess guys?”

“You guess?” Ignis asked, causing Noctis to laugh nervously. “You’re nineteen, Noct, have you truly gone this long without…” Ignis cut himself off again and even in the starlight Noctis could see him blush.

“You definitely don’t have to think that,” Noctis laughed. “It’s just, when it comes to porn or whatever, I’m not super picky. Sounds do it more for me than images anyway.”

“Good to know, I guess.”

“Yeah, let’s just drop this subject.”

They remained on the hill until the moon started to rise, effectively destroying the stargazing. They packed up their things and started the long walk home. The woods were a lot different at night, every sound seemed louder than it should have and Noctis may have jumped once or twice as a branch fell. The third time something startled him, he grabbed on to Ignis’s hand, but before he could be embarrassed by it, Ignis just entwined their fingers and held it the rest of the way to the cabin. Once home, they quickly readied for bed and collapsed into it without a second thought.

~*~*~*~*~

The next couple of days at the cabin were much like the first, only Ignis noticed that Noctis seemed to be staying near him, more so than usual. At first he thought it was because he worried about Ignis and the breakup, but when Ignis slipped up by wiping cake batter off the corner of his mouth in a way that was more loving than pure necessity, the prince leaned into the touch.

Gods, Ignis thought to himself later, he must be a mess if he thought Noctis could be at all interested in him. Even when Noctis had said he liked guys, he wasn’t exactly confident on the matter and so Ignis didn’t want the false hope.

Though, he still went to bed each night allowing his mind to pretend they were together. It wasn’t healthy, he knew, but this would be his only chance to indulge in such fantasies. It wasn’t as if anything came of the thoughts; he still went to bed after Noctis and got up before him. He never lingered in bed, even when Noctis had basically rolled on top of him. He made sure to get up before his mind could wander to those dark places he was usually so good at keeping hidden, even from himself.

The last morning, however, Ignis found it hard to get moving. He figured it was because this impromptu vacation was coming to an end. This would mean going back to the daily routine of being adviser to the prince. It would also mean facing the council and Lord Stoeck after the undesirable break up.

Mostly, though, Ignis knew that he didn’t want to give up the feeling of Noctis curled around him like he was. He couldn’t see any situation where they could share a bed again and he wanted to enjoy it for as long as he could.

Noctis shifted slightly, nuzzling his face a little further into Ignis’s neck and all Ignis could do was turn his head just enough so that he face was buried in a mess of black hair and fall back to sleep.

“Are you okay?”

Noctis’s voice cut through the silence and Ignis opened his eyes to see a concerned prince watching him.

“Hmm?” he asked with a yawn.

“Are you okay? You’re still in bed and you never stay in bed this long.”

“Just trying to stock up on sleep,” Ignis said, smiling.

“Yeah, I don’t think it works like that,” Noctis said. He moved so that his arm was thrown over Ignis’s stomach and his head was resting on his chest. “It’s nice though. Waking up like this.”

Those last sentences were said quietly, as if Noctis didn’t mean to say them out loud. But Ignis had to agree. “Yes. Yes it is.”

A companionable silence fell and lasted long enough that both men were dozing when a thought occurred to Ignis. “Did you really set all this up because you knew I wouldn’t want to go see the play?”

Noctis gave a nervous chuckle. “Kind of?” he answered and when he received a look that clearly wanted more to the explanation, he continued. “I mean, it was kind of the last straw for me, I guess? You weren’t happy. I know you told me it was just a more hectic time, but you never seemed better. I always thought that having a girlfriend to go to was supposed to help with the stress. Especially when it was a new relationship. But I only have movies and shows to base that on, so I guess I could be wrong?”

“No, I think there I some truth to that,” Ignis answered. “She hated you or at least my relationship with you.”

“What? How? We hardly saw each other.”

“It was the knowledge that I would willing drop everything to go to you if you needed me. How I would never let a text or call go unanswered. She knew from the beginning that she would always be living in your shadow and she didn’t like that.”

“Then why did she stay?”

Ignis shrugged. “The best I can figure is she wanted a higher status than her friends. Also I’m ‘extremely good looking and made all her friends jealous.’”

“Well, she’s not wrong there,” Noctis said and his immediate reaction to those words let Ignis know he hadn’t meant to say them. Noctis clamped his mouth shut and his face quickly turned a bright red. “Gods,” he muttered as he tried to roll out of bed, but Ignis kept hold of him.

“You think I’m good looking?” Ignis asked playfully. His brain was telling him this was a terrible idea but his heart was pushing him forward.

Noctis wouldn’t look at him, but he did manage to whisper, “Yes.”

“But not extremely so?”

“Yes, gods yes, you are extremely good looking!” Noctis cried as if he had been tortured into saying it. “You’re gorgeous.” Once again it was clear that those words weren’t meant to be said and somehow the prince turned even redder.

Ignis kept Noctis in place, but moved a hand up so that he could play with his hair. When they were little, Noctis would love for Ignis to lose his fingers in the dark locks and it seemed it wasn’t something he grew out of.

“Well, I think you are gorgeous as well.” Ignis wasn’t sure he recognized his own voice when he spoke. Those were words Noctis was never meant to hear. Hell, those were words that were never meant to be said out loud. He said those words yet it felt like he was listening to himself at the far end of a tunnel.

The response he got was a huff and a “yeah, right.”

“Look at me, Noct,” Ignis said and he watched as Noctis readjusted himself so that his chin was resting Ignis’s left breast and they could look each other in the eye. Ignis wondered if it was as difficult for Noctis to keep eye contact as it was for him. “You are kind, caring, and thoughtful.”

“All those things that Penelope isn’t,” Noctis cut in.

He smiled, “Yes.”

A moment passed in silence, the two just staring at each other with slight, but decidedly stupid, grins on their faces. It was Noctis that broke the silence.

“I really want to kiss you, but I’m afraid I’ll mess it up.”

“Have you truly never kissed anyone?” Ignis asked. “No fleeting curiosity with Prompto or silly party games?”

“Prompto? Really?” Noctis laughed, cocking an eyebrow.

Ignis shrugged. “He seems the type that would worry and want practice.”

For some reason, that set the prince into a fit of giggles. It took him a moment to calm back down, but he definitely agreed with Ignis’s assumption. “He totally seems the type!”

It was while waiting for Noctis to stop giggling that Ignis pushed himself up into a seated position and slowly pulled Noctis closer to him as his laughter died down. When Noctis finally got control of himself again, he seemed shocked to find he was sitting so close to Ignis. The older man moved slowly, giving the prince ample time to pull away. A hand came up to cup his chin, thumb caressing his cheek. Ignis couldn’t help but smile as Noctis leaned into the touch. Then slowly, so slowly, Ignis brought his face so close to Noctis’s that they could feel each other’s breath. Noctis had closed his eyes in nervous anticipation.

“May I?” Ignis asked, lips just ghosting over Noctis’s.

“Please,” came the response.

The hair-width of a gap was closed as Ignis leaned in fully. The kiss was tentative, soft, and a little bit exploratory. It took Noctis a moment to decide how to respond, but once he did, it was clear how quickly his confidence grew. When Ignis pulled back, Noctis tried to follow and actually let a bit of a whimper escape when he couldn’t reconnect. And, once he realized he made the noise, he immediately flushed with embarrassment, causing Ignis to laugh.

“I believe it may be prudent to keep this slow,” Ignis said, pulling Noctis into his body, “don’t want to overwhelm you with all of these new sensations.”

“Uh-huh, or you’re worried that you don’t know when Cor will get here and so don’t want to be caught doing something untowardly,” Noctis emphasized the last word but doing his best Ignis impersonation.

“Be that as it may, we should get moving.”

Noctis grumbled, but he allowed Ignis to push him off the bed as the other followed. They dressed and packed their things in silence, moving their bags to the front door before Ignis went to work on breakfast, or brunch, really, as it was much closer to lunch time now.

“This doesn’t stay here, does it?” Noctis asked as he watched Ignis cook.

“I believe I said we should take it slow, not stop it all together,” Ignis replied. “But we should be careful and work out how to handle it. I daresay the council and the press will have a field day, so we may want to keep it relatively quiet for a little while. At least until we figure us out.”

“Yeah, I get that,” Noctis said. He was lost in thought for a moment before a smile twitched at the corners of his mouth.

“And what devious plan have you just concocted?” Ignis asked He knew that look all too well.

“Just thinking that no one would find it too weird if you were to stay the night,” he answered. “I really don’t want to go back to sleeping by myself.”

“Yes, I’ve grown quite fond of you curled into me, though your bed isn’t as big as this one.”

“It’s big enough for both of us,” Noctis said. “I can just sleep on top of you if you need more room.”

Ignis chuckled, “Yes, I do believe you could find sleep that way. I, however, would suffocate under your weight. I’ll stick to sleeping next to you.”

A scandalized look crossed Noctis’s features as he asked “Are you saying I’m fat?” but the fake annoyance didn’t last long. The rest of the morning was spent chatting and laughing and it seemed all too soon that they heard the car pull up to the cabin and Cor was coming to collect them.

It was back to reality. Ignis would have to face the fallback of his breakup and both would need to figure out how to navigate this new facet in his relationship with Noctis, but that was all okay. The vacation had done more for Ignis than he could have ever dreamed and he was quite glad he’d been spirited away in the early morning hours of Monday so that he could find himself. Even better was that he and Noctis found each other.


End file.
